Posted on 11/30/2008 3:36:23 PM PST by JoeProBono
Centuries-old European explorers' tales of lost cities in the Amazon have long been dismissed by scholars, in part because the region is too infertile to feed a sprawling civilization. But new discoveries support the idea of an ancient Amazonian urban networkand ingeniously engineered soil may have made it all possible.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.nationalgeographic.com ...
If recreated, the engineered soil could feed the hungry and may even help fight global warming, experts suggest.
The artical identified itself as junk science as soon as it began parroting the “Global warming” line.
ping.
Yes, we call it “manure” now.
They used the super rich natural compost piles found in their swamps and low lands!
You’d better be careful if you’re going to mix human waste in with the soil you grow food in. All kinds of nasty diseases are possible, including cholera.
There may be a reason these cities were empty when the Conquistadors found them.
This soil type was described briefly in the book 1941 by Charles C. Mann.
Seems that many indigenous people still farm on the soil to this day.
Quite an amazing legacy.
Amazonian find stuns researchers
The Seattle Times | 9-20-03 | By Thomas H. Maugh II
Posted on 09/20/2003 6:15:45 PM PDT by vannrox
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/986400/posts
and, for many more related links, see:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2070246/posts?page=25#25
in:
Scientists find ancient lost settlements in Amazon
Reuters | Aug 28, 2008 | Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Maggie Fox
Posted on 08/28/2008 5:54:59 PM PDT by decimon
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2070246/posts
‘Lost towns’ discovered in Amazon
BBC News | 8-28-08
Posted on 09/19/2008 4:43:17 AM PDT by Renfield
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2085718/posts
unrelated, but still interesting:
Amazon ‘Outgrows Nile’
The Telegraph (UK) | 6-18-2007 | Andrew Downie
Posted on 06/17/2007 7:45:47 PM PDT by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1851895/posts
|
|||
Gods |
Thanks rdl6989. |
||
· Discover · Nat Geographic · Texas AM Anthro News · Yahoo Anthro & Archaeo · · The Archaeology Channel · Excerpt, or Link only? · cgk's list of ping lists · |
Mary, Mary, quite contrary
how does your garden grow?
With silver bells
and cockle shells
and a little manure
just to be sure...
Sounds like the carpet inside an Obama supporter's home.
Didn’t that happen in our spinach crop a few years ago...
"Terra Preta de Indio" (Amazonian Dark Earths, earlier also called Terra Preta do Indio or Indian Black Earth) is the local name for certain dark earths in the Brazilian Amazon region. These dark earths occur, however, in several countries in South America (Brazil, Ecuador and Peru) and possibly beyond.
As ecologically rich as the rainforest may appear, the soil it stands in is unsuited to farming largely a result of the incessant rain washing away all nutrients. But those pockets of soil that are Terra Preta, are suitable for farming and thus form an out of place patch of fertility in an otherwise harsh environment. In fact, it has the ability to maintain nutrient levels over hundreds of years. According to Bruno Glaser, a chemist at the University of Bayreuth, "If you read the textbooks, it shouldn't be there." According to a study led by Dirse Kern of the Museu Goeldi in Belem, Terra Preta is "not associated with a particular parent soil type or environmental condition", suggesting it was not produced by natural processes...
thanks Fred Nerks!
Rainforest Researchers Hit Paydirt (Farming 11K Years Ago in South America)
University Of Vermont | 8-29-2002 | Lynda Majarian
Posted on 08/30/2002 10:11:59 AM PDT by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/742036/posts
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.